Traders, Trump Agree: ‘You Have To Be Long Stocks’

Former trader Richard Breslow is out with a subdued morning missive, which, although lacking his characteristic flair, is a nice summary of where things stand heading into the NFP print.

One thing worth noting in what you’ll read below is the bit about forecasting earnings and wage pressure. Eventually, we’re told, wage inflation is going to show up (it has to, right? after all, the labor market is “overheating”). With margins already pushing the upper-limits, one wonders what happens if/when wages start to impinge (maybe just hire more robots?).

There’s also a bit about Jackson Hole, which is of course the main event of main events and is coming up on us fast (Draghi in mirror is closer than he appears).

Oh, and of course there’s this: “Love them or hate them, you’ve had to be long equities.”

Trump agrees:

Via Bloomberg

It’s been goodly, as opposed to awfully, quiet in the early goings-on today. Ranges have been tight. There have been good numbers and disappointing ones. Earnings beats but also misses. Decent auction results which didn’t seem to need much of a contrived concession, but on the other hand didn’t move yields all that much. The last round of Fed speakers were heard and the markets largely responded by reminding themselves that these folks have already declared themselves on holiday. And their comments were taken as such. It’s been a real throwback day, without a sea of green or red on the screens denoting everything moving in mindless lockstep.

Markets have certainly been moving around. A lot of new assumptions, some only weeks old, have been driving things and causing a seeming consensus of opinion to form at record speed. And now traders are hoping to hunker down in peace as they wait for non-farm payrolls. Some hard data for the hardy who eschewed escaping to the beach

The euro has been on a tear of its own making, with its latest shift into high gear coming from what may or may not become the “fabled Sintra speech”. Simultaneously, U.S. numbers have been questionable and the news from Washington bleak. But, all week, this 1.18 handle has been succeeding in getting a firm grip on the EUR/USD cross. Despite the story lines and momentum, these are tough levels to buy euro or sell the dollar index. I suspect a surprise in either direction from tomorrow’s number is going to have an outsized affect on where to from here. And one that should have some lingering consequences. These moves are not unambiguously good or bad

Sovereign yields have defied any attempt to light a fire under them. Obviously true for Treasuries, but, surprise, surprise, it’s been so for the German yield curve as well. It hasn’t been relative yields driving the currency moves. This number can easily cause either the bears or bulls to give up the ghost

We all immediately fixate on the NFP headline number, but there’s also wages and participation rates to consider. And all three have the real possibility to surprise, collectively or individually, thereby setting the trading tone until we get to Jackson Hole. By the by, there are some interesting divergences this time around in how economists are forecasting the component parts

Love them or hate them, you’ve had to be long equities. A really interesting test for EPS prognosticating would be legitimate signs of nascent wage pressures

This number has a real chance of telling you what you’re supposed to be doing for the next month, so it might be prudent to avoid the sad tendency to look at everything as only an indication of some central bank reaction function

Writing about a subject is the best
way to educate yourself about it, and when I flick through past work I remember how much
they taught me, if no one else. Mainly they taught me that I didn’t know very much. But they
also taught me that most other people didn’t know much either. Thus, some key themes
which stand out include the illusory control of policy makers, the presumed knowledge of
those looking to them to actively do good, the ease with which we fool ourselves, and how
best to protect capital in the face of such unavoidable uncertainty. -- Dylan Grice